Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world. In this article, I will tell you the complete details about Venezuela and its oil resources.
Venezuela country of oil resources:
Venezuela is a country in South America that is known for its rich natural resources, especially oil. Venezuela has a large amount of oil.
It stretches from the Caribbean coastline in the north to the Amazon basin in the south. Venezuela’s land has given it great petroleum wealth.
For the past many decades, oil has been the center of the country’s economy, politics, and its position in the global energy markets. Even now, unlike many other nations, Venezuela’s economy has long been heavily dependent on oil exports and the state oil company PDVSA.
How much oil does Venezuela have?
According to reports, Venezuela has the biggest proven oil reserves in the world, about 303 billion barrels. This is almost 17% of all known oil in the world. Venezuela has the most oil in the world.
Most of this oil is in the Orinoco Oil Belt, which is in eastern Venezuela. This area has heavy and extra-heavy crude oil which is thicker and needs more advanced processing than light oil.
Why does Venezuela have so much oil?
Venezuela is naturally full of oil. Oil is naturally present here. Right now Venezuela has more oil than Saudi Arabia, Qatar and many other countries. There is a place in Venezuela called the Orinoco Belt where the most oil is found.
Additionally, the Orinoco Belt has very large reserves of extra-heavy crude oil, much more than the normal light oil reserves found in other places.
Also, geological formations like the Orinoco and nearby basins were formed in a way that they trapped a lot of organic material which later turned into oil.
This natural abundance means Venezuela has one of the highest oil amounts in the world, but this does not always mean easy production or high export income.
Venezuela compared to other oil-rich countries:
Based on proven oil reserves, Venezuela is compared with the world’s number one oil holders:
Proven oil reserves:
- Venezuela — 303 billion barrels
- Saudi Arabia — 267 billion barrels
- Iran — 208 billion barrels
- Canada — 163 billion barrels
- Iraq — 154 billion barrels
Apart from this, it is also important to mention that the United States is one of the biggest oil-producing countries in the world right now.
Venezuela has a lot of oil, but it does not have a strong refinery system, which is why the United States is still ahead of it.
Why is Venezuela not able to produce more oil?
Even though Venezuela has huge oil reserves, its actual oil production has fallen a lot.
In the late 1990s, its production was more than 3.5 million barrels per day.
Now its production has decreased and has come down to around 1 million barrels.
There are several reasons for this decline:
1: Oil that is difficult to extract:
Most of Venezuela’s oil is heavy and extra-heavy crude. Compared to light oil, it is harder and more expensive to extract and improve. To make this oil usable, it often needs to be mixed with lighter petroleum.
2: Poor infrastructure:
There is a big shortage of facilities in Venezuela. Because of lack of proper resources, oil production decreases a lot.
If the infrastructure becomes strong, this problem can be solved.
3: Sanctions on Venezuela:
Because Venezuela has very large oil reserves, it is facing many international sanctions.
Many countries want to gain control over Venezuela, but it is not easy to do so.Due to international sanctions, many restrictions have been imposed which create problems in production and other related work.
4: problems & limited investment:
Venezuela is facing international sanctions, specially from the United States of america usa.
There is also limited access to foreign investment and technical expertise.
All of this together weakens Venezuela’s capability, which results in lower production.
5:Orinoco Belt and oil quality:
The Orinoco Belt is not only large, it also contains a very big amount of heavy and extra-heavy oil, which usually has high sulfur content and lower API gravity.
Heavy crude is normally sold at a cheaper price compared to light crude because it needs more complex refining.
To extract this oil, special technology and big investment are required, which Venezuela has not fully used due to economic and political problems.
Conclusion:
Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, but due to lack of resources it is facing many difficulties.
It has 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
Most of this oil is found in the Orinoco Belt, where a large amount of heavy crude exists.
From basic infrastructure to political and economic problems, Venezuela is producing far less oil than expected.
What do you think about this?
If Venezuela had full resources, how much oil could it produce monthly?
Share your opinion in the comments below.
